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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: October 30, 2006



PHILADELPHIA, PA: The Weiss Tech House at the University of Pennsylvania will present its first annual Innovation Week November 6-10, 2006. This student-led initiative will celebrate Penn's history of innovation and encourage students from across the University to harness technological innovation for the greater good. It will also kick off the first round of the three-part PennVention 2007 student inventor's competition. Local entrepreneurs, alumni inventors and faculty from the Wharton Business School and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will lend their expertise to a series of events designed to help students develop their innovative ideas. Students from across the University will compete for $1,000 in a technology-based treasure hunt, and Weiss Tech House volunteers will teach a new after-school science program to local youth in West Philadelphia.

"One of the reasons I chose to come to Penn was for the resources available to student innovators with good ideas," said Jared Bernheim, co-founder of Intellistem Orthopaedic Innovations Inc. "The Weiss Tech House provided resources that helped my partner and me develop our patent-pending design for hip replacement technology that will ease patients' pain and suffering. I'm looking forward to sharing our story with aspiring inventors during Innovation Week"

Innovation Week is designed for students with a broad range of academic and technological interests. All Penn students will be encouraged to participate in the week's events and apply for their share of the $80,000 available to student inventors through the Weiss Tech House Innovation Fund and PennVention 2007 competition.


Highlights of Innovation Week 2006 include:

Monday, November 6th:
-- $1,000 Innovative Treasure Hunt kick-off (photo op for press at 3:00 pm, 3330 Walnut Street)
-- Robotics, Patents and the Rumble Pack, Dr. Mark Yim, renowned robotics expert and engineer, best known for his work on the Sony Playstation2 Rumble pack

Tuesday, November 7th:
-- A Worthy Investment, Dr. Michael Aronson, MentorTech Ventures venture capital fund

Wednesday, November 8th:
-- The Other $80K: Applying to the Innovation Fund & PennVention Workshop, Weiss Tech House student and alumni inventors

Thursday, November 9th:
-- Innovation in the 21st Century, Dr. Karl Ulrich, founder of TerraPass, inventor of Xootr Scootr
-- From Conceptualization to Commercialization: Innovation Conference

• -Dr. David Hsu, Wharton Professor and Associate Editor of Management Science;
• -Eric Scott Siegel, President & CEO Seigel Management Company
• -Vincenzo La Ruffa, Susquehanna Private Equity
• -Jared Bernheim, co-founder of Intellistem Orthopaedic Innovations, Inc

Friday, November 10th:
-- Socially Responsible Innovation, Dr. John W. Fantuzzo, founder of Covenant House
-- Students Teach Science Program at Sayre-Beacon Elementary School
-- Innovative Treasure Hunt Awards Ceremony


The Weiss Tech House is a student-run hub of technological innovation on Penn’s campus. Since its inception in 2003, the Weiss Tech House has provided a unique intellectual experience and resource-rich environment to help students create, develop and commercialize innovative technologies. Each year, the Weiss Tech House awards approximately $20,000 in grants to select student inventors through its in-house Innovation Fund. Each April, students compete for more than $60,000 in cash and prizes at the annual PennVention invention fair. In a few short years, the Weiss Tech House has aided in the development of more than 20 innovations including MuscleMorph, a patent-pending muscle-like device that provides a more efficient, cheaper alternative for traditional motors in artificial limbs and prosthetic devices. After winning first place in PennVention 2006, MuscleMorph went on to win the Wharton Business Plan Competition and most recently won first place in FORTUNE Small Business Magazine’s Battle of the Business Plans competition. The Weiss Tech House does not hold equity in any student or alumni enterprise. For more information and a full description of Innovation Week 2006 events visit http://www.tech-house.upenn.edu/dynamic/site/iweek/.